2016. Lagos. A very serious consortium thought it had secured a very serious project... The Fourth Mainland Bridge. Thirty-eight kilometres. ₦844 billion. A 40-year toll-road PPP. Wow. The consortium included major contractors, banks and infrastructure investors. They had the Government. They had signed an MoU. They had even announced a three-year construction programme. The champagne was open. Celebrations… But… The champagne was not cold enough. You’d say… details, the important thing is...
1 day ago • 1 min read
A few months ago, I worked on a project where the client refused to use AI. Cybersecurity, they said. Fair enough. Cybersecurity matters. But their solution was extraordinary. They preferred to spend hundreds of hours of senior professionals’ time… At around $500 an hour… On tasks that AI could complete in minutes. Trust me… even if in my pocket… the money does not pay to waste your time like that… These were some of the best professionals in the country. The client did not trust them. It did...
2 days ago • 1 min read
If you thought that nothing could be worse than yesterday example, let me tell you something. Again, the UK. NMC Health was a FTSE 100 company. It operated hundreds of healthcare facilities across the Middle East. It was worth billions. And every year, EY audited its accounts. Seven years. Seven unqualified audit opinions. Around ÂŁ14 million in audit fees. Everything appeared fine. Until 17 December 2019. That day, a small research firm called Muddy Waters published a report. It questioned...
4 days ago • 1 min read
I love the UK’s market… it has shown us so many things… Let’s take for example the UK Post Office. Early 2010s. The guys had a problem. Its Horizon accounting system said money was disappearing. Yeah… just like that… And you still wonder about Brexit… Anyway… the Post Office blamed the usual suspects… the people operating it. Hundreds were prosecuted. Some went to prison. Lives were destroyed. And for years, the official position remained essentially the same: The system works. Ole, with 2...
5 days ago • 2 min read
I always say that politicians cost taxpayers billions. And not because of their salaries, the salaries of their friends and advisers, or the favours repaid while they are in office—or afterwards. No. Because of their incompetence and lack of common sense. For example… Never announce the marriage while you are still negotiating the prenup. This is common sense. Still, politicians with billions in their hands throw common sense in the bin. We even have well-documented cases. With papers… And...
6 days ago • 2 min read
A few weeks ago, I had a call with a colleague in Kenya. He told me about the chaos surrounding the proposed PPP at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. He may even be reading this email. Hello. The story is quite impressive. Kenya needed to expand its main airport. That part was not controversial. JKIA was already operating above its designed capacity. It needed a new terminal. A second runway. More capacity. And Kenya did not exactly have a few billion dollars sitting comfortably in a...
7 days ago • 2 min read
I’m flying to Fiji for a week. And I’m not worried about the Wi-Fi. My business will keep moving. The important decisions have been made. The decision flows have been tested. And the right people know what to do if something goes wrong. It wasn’t always like that. I still remember my first Christmas holidays as CEO of A30 Express in Montreal. There was an accident. A fatality. Snow had accumulated against the barriers of a bridge. It froze. And created the perfect ramp for a car to fly over...
8 days ago • 1 min read
Look. A question for you. What is more dangerous… Sending a letter you know may be wrong? Or sending one that everyone is convinced is right? In my experience… Definitely the second. A bad letter creates questions. A polished letter creates confidence. It has been reviewed by management. Checked by the lawyers. Discussed with the technical team. Perhaps even approved by the Board. Everyone agrees. Send it. And that is precisely when I become nervous. Intelligent people do not normally make...
9 days ago • 1 min read
Rule 8 of PPPs: Never go around the SPV. That shortcut has lawyers at the other end. I know why agencies do it. The SPV needs to consult the contractor. Then the shareholders. Then the Board. Then the lenders. Then the lawyers. What should take five minutes takes three weeks. So, someone decides to be practical: “Let’s speak directly with the contractor.” Wrong. Look. The contractor builds the project. The SPV owns the promise. The SPV holds the Project Agreement. The SPV carries the...
10 days ago • 1 min read